Statute of limitations is the time period within which a person has to file charges against an accused or defendant. The limitations by states that cases cannot be filed for any crime that was committed before five years. This is because there are significant changes in the crime scene after that and evidence and witnesses do not hold value after such a prolonged period. Even dui lawyer near me can help you with this as they are ready to guide you at every step.
Therefore, no person can be arrested, tested or convicted for an offensive act or harm to the capital, if the case is not filed within the time frame of five years. That’s not all; one has to be careful and well-informed about the statutes before filing a case against anyone as their time and money can be easily wasted if the crime took place way ahead in the past.
Statute Of Limitations – What is the purpose ?
Usually, a crime is reported immediately or after some days but sometimes the time taken by the victim can be much longer than that. However, during this time period, there can be mishandling of evidence and witnesses can actually forget the exact sequence of events that occurred. Hence, required limitations for frauds.
Therefore, it gets hard for both the accused and the victim to prove their case. It gets very hard for the accused as the longer duration tends to erase some parts of the event from his memory as well and the crime scene gets heavily interrupted during this period.
Therefore, the federal law has allowed the victims a time frame of five years within which they can file a case against an individual, group or organization that have either committed or been a part of the crime.
This also helps the defendants since they can defend themselves with much more clarity and precision if the crime is reported shortly after being committed. However, the defendant needs to use this privilege smartly because if the defense lawyer does not present this before the court prior to the trial, then it is no longer considered a right of the defendant to waive of the charges against him/her.
Also, the defense lawyer has to establish the fact that the case has been filed after the completion of five years. Therefore, the Statute of Limitations is a bit tricky on the part of the defendant as well. you can also visit for collated more information on what is the statute of limitations.
Statute Of Limitations By State – Are There Any Exceptions To This Law?
While the Limitations does provide relief to the accused, it cannot be used as an escape tool for all crimes. But there’s a catch: there are some offenses and crimes that have been provided an exception from this law. They include sexual assault or molestation of a child, murder, terrorism, half-murder, and such other cases.
Therefore, we can conclude that crimes that are heinous in nature are usually an exception to this law. Also, we can observe that usually white collar or sophisticated crimes and offenses are included in the statute.
Moreover, there are some exceptions in the time limit as well. Let me explain; any offense against the Federal Govt. of the United States such as fraud of bank loans, political assistance, etc. comes under the Statute of Limitations by state as well. However, the time period for filing a case against such a crime is seven years.
Also, there have always been exceptions when the judges have given importance to the charges of the prosecutors especially when a witness or crime has been supposedly committed in a foreign country.
The offenses which are related to the immigration have been given an extension of five more years by the Federal Law. Therefore, the time limit for such offenses is ten years instead of five.
Now let us see the cases in which the time limit for Statutes is more than 5 years:
Here’s the list of some cases in which the Statute of Limitations allows the victim to file a case against a defendant within the time period of 10 years:
- The fraudulent bank schemes that malign a particular bank or Financial Institution
- Using TV, radio, wire transfers or such other mediums to commit a fraud
- Using mail ids for carrying out a fraud
- Giving gifts or luring officials while procuring a bank loan
- Misuse of authority or rights by a bank official or employee
- Using false records of a bank of FI (Financial Institution)
- Committing fraud against the Federal Govt. of the United States of America
- Producing fake citizenship documents
- Disguising as some other person while giving a witness statement, filing a petition, applying for a loan and similar cases
- Illegal procurement of citizenship
- Selling or providing fake citizenship papers
- Issuance of a fake passport or using a fake passport
- An incorrect or false statement given while applying for a passport
- Utilizing a passport of some other person
How did the Statute of Limitations did come into existence?
If you believe that Statute of Limitations is an offering of the modern school of law, then you are highly mistaken. Use of similar law has been recorded even before the sixteenth century when it was used in Ancient Roman Civilization.
It was introduced in the law of the United Kingdom during the sixteenth century when a similar law was used for cases related to property and real estate. Also, the Limitations is used differently in different counties. For instance, in Germany, the Statutes for civil cases and disputes are 30 years but might vary between 2 to 3 years for some cases.
Statute of Limitations also includes special consideration for those who were physically handicapped or mentally incapable at the time of the crime. Fraud cases in which the victim party is not aware of the crime for many years also get the liberty to file a case as soon as they get information about the fraud.
Also, this law does not hold true for a particular period when the accused or defendant was beyond the reach of jurisdiction. You can observe that the time period of the limitation is generally shorter in the United States as compared to the European countries.
In countries like England, the Limitations does not hold true on criminal cases except for the frequently committed crimes like petty thefts or robbery.
Also, criminal cases like murder do not come under the Statute in almost all countries. Therefore, justice can be served to accused years or even decades after committing a murder.
In the USA alone, the Statutes for felonies is different in different states.
Statute Of Limitations Crime – Let us see more about limit in these states
- Alabama – For felonies, the Limitations permits a victim a time period of three years to file a case against the defendant.
- Alaska – In Alaska, crimes such as sexual assault, kidnapping, murder, attempt to murder, etc. are not included in the Statute. However, the time limit for other felonies is ten years.
- Colorado – The time limit for felonies is ten years in Colorado. This includes cases such as murder, attempt to murder, forgery, Statute Of Limitations Crime, sexual Criminal abuse, kidnapping, etc.
- Arizona – The time limit for felonies in the state of Arizona is seven years. However, capital crimes are not included in the Limitations.
- California – In California, the time limit for Limitations is six years for serious felonies such as murder, sexual assault, etc. However, the time limit is three years for lower level felonies.
- Arkansas – Rape cases and murders are not included under this law in Arkansas. However, mid-level felonies (Class A and Class Y) have a time limit of six years, and low-level felonies have a time limit of six years.
That’s not all; the Limitations is not an obsolete law when it comes to any case. Also, it is not the final law as it also depends on the nature and severity of a crime. These laws were specified even in the first Congress meeting which states that they are being used for several decades.
Therefore, the statutes might act as a defense shield for some criminals, but it does not take away the right to demand justice from the victims. It is just a provision made for the defendants to defend themselves in the right manner. The best part is that it helps the defendants when the prosecution fails to file any criminal case against them during the specified period of the limitations.
We hope that you learned something important from these facts and features of the Statutes of Limitations. However, if you are confused or concerned about a specific clause or law, please feel free to contact us. We will always be ready to provide you the right assistance and right direction. You can visit our Online lawyer for more detailed information on statute of limitations meaning.